Beautiful
by candelight
Summary: Yubel makes the mistake of watching human television, which makes her worry whether or not she's lovely enough for Juudai. A silly little twoshot. JuudaixYubel
1. Chapter 1

Beautiful

Yubel makes the mistake of watching human television, which makes her worry whether or not she's lovely enough for Juudai. A silly little twoshot. JuudaixYubel

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Hey, everyone. I don't really care for Yugioh GX, but I caught a glimpse of these two on the (ironically enough) telly, and was interested in their back stories. Did a little research, and a good amount of 'Awwwing.' Thus, I decided to give a shot writing a small story. I'm not too good with romance, but I hope you like it! By the way, Yubel is a hermaphodite in this, (Though the reference is to 'she') so here's your first and last warning!

Yubel didn't like it when Juudai was away. Not one bit. It made her nervous, and it made her fidgety around the small flat that they shared. She didn't MEAN to be, of course, but when Yubel got to fidgeting around the tiny space she and Juudai shared, things tended to break. Juudai had been remarkably kind about the number of things she broke, but it made her feel guilty, which made her feel more stir-crazy. Only at night could she enjoy a decent flight outside, else she'd cause a widestream panic in the city.

Humans could be such segregated prudes about flying demons. See one, and you think doomsday is upon you. Yubel had written several letters of complaint about it to the Editor, but for some reason or another, they were never published. Cheapskates. Juudai, hiding a smile behind his hand, had told her that often people who had vast money or power had their letters actually published in that section.

It'd be lovely if she could fly out to visit Juudai while he was at work, and to surprise him with lunch. But until Juudai finished college and his many side-jobs, here, in this tiny place, she would have to stay for most of the time. That he had to work so hard to feed the both of them, to afford this small apartment, pained her, and made her wish ardently that she could work, too, instead of spending day after listless day straightening the apartment, redecorating it, occasionally repainting if she were really bored that day, or willing the clock to move by faster, so that Juudai would come home.

On such a day, Yubel lowered her newest book, and tossed it unhappily behind her on the floor, before raising her head to look at the clock beside the bed she and Juudai shared. It must have been awhile since she looked last; an hour or two must have gone by, at lea-

Her multicolored eyes widened in horror. Three minutes. Yubel seized Juudai's pillow, and buried her face in it, inhaling the scent of him.

She was bored. Terribly so. She'd already redone the kitchen twice that day. She'd gone through the large stack of library books that Juudai had gotten for her in a half hour. Dinner was already waiting for the two of them in the fridge-it just needed to be warmed up. There was absolutely nothing left for her to do.

And it was killing her.

The duel monster dully turned around on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. She wanted Juudai to come home. She wanted to help him with his history homework, she wanted to hear him talk about his day at school, at the Java Stand, or at the Studio. She wanted to eat dinner with him, to play a board game with him, maybe take a bath with him, and then, just quietly sit on the bed for awhile before they went to sleep….

….for a very short period of time. Juudai had arranged to have morning classes (Much to his horror) so that he could work late. That meant he had to be out of bed at six, and home by six. It was so unfair.

Juudai was still working long shifts at the studio this week, desperate to pay their month's rent and to make a tiny deposit on their small savings account.

Yubel groaned, and sat up, uneasily kicking her legs back and forth over the side of the bed.

That wasn't even the worst of it. All day, every day, thoughts of trouble that the young man constantly stumbled into loomed into her mind, thoughts of him getting mugged, kidnapped, or other ghastly things she had read about in the papers happening to him haunted her, and the idea of other 'girls' catching his eye, tormented her. If Juudai could live at the dorms in his college, he wouldn't have to work like this, so that they could be together. And, if he found a pretty-looking girl at his school who liked the same things he did, then….

"Agh!" Yubel groaned, as she drifted out the door, desperate to calm down. She narrowly avoided knocking over a vase in the hallway once again.

There had to be something she hadn't yet done! But Yubel kept their living space tidy-made sure the bills were paid, and grocery lists made. She'd done all that this morning. What could she do now? She definitely wasn't tired, so sleeping was out of the question. Besides, Yubel hated sleeping in the daytime. As if she didn't feel lazy enough already.

Yubel dully floated past the kitchen, past the sitting room, and then paused. Juudai's parents had given him a…what was it? A television, as a going away present. The boy had been too busy to turn the Talking Box on lately, but it did do vaguely amusing things, sometimes. Yubel didn't know how all the people and voices fit inside the box, but somehow, they all did. Maybe they'd be interested in talking to her. Maybe it would pass the time.

Uncertain, the duel monster reached for the small device sitting on the coffee table, and, after a few tries, pressed the largest green button.

The screen began to flicker, and the red light on the corner of the large box had just turned blue. Encouraged by her success, Yubel settled back on the couch to see what TV had to offer.

"This week, on Tin Chefs, our mystery ingredient is a special little thing we call love…."

Bored, Yubel pressed random buttons on the remote, hoping the screen would flash to something more interesting. To her immediate gratification, the channel DID turn. The Television was her willing servant!

"Frogo, what are you waiting for? CAST THE RING INTO THE FIRE!"

The small, elven like creature slowly turned around, desire burning in his haunted blue eyes.

"…no, Pam."

A devilish smile crossed his features, and he slowly stared to retreat from the enormous pit of fire. However, the other slightly shorter figure simply yelled out,

"That ring makes you look like a total girl, y'know!"

The ring of power was flying towards the lava when Yubel triumphantly changed the channel.

"-and so, an all new season begins now-with card games on MOTORCYCLES!"

"What a stupid idea," Yubel grumbled under her breath, right before changing the channel once again.

"And so, Marsha is going back to prison, but she'll teach her fellow in-mates how to arrange tasteful platters of fruit-"

Yubel changed the channel again, admiring the power pulsating in her veins. This was amazing. The TV went quiet when she wanted it to, Louder when she pressed a button, and in Spanish when she requested it to! The Television wasn't just her servant-it was her SLAVE!

"-and so, our letter for the week is C yet again, because this show has been around for a heartcrippling amount of time-"

_Click! _

"Next on Jingler, a man who has married an outhouse and a spittoon-"

_Click! _

"So, we're just asking you to empty out your wallets, and buy this cheap nonsense for-"

_Click! _

"Allison….I love you. But the truth is, Samantha was pregnant with what was believed to be _my_ baby, only to turn out to be my half-sister-in-law."

_Click!_

"How's your complexion today?"

Yubel blinked, and uncertainly lowered the remote, just as she was about to exercise her magnificent powers once again. It was the first time the TV had directly asked her a question.

"….fine, I guess," she answered, puzzled. "Why are you asking?"

The TV went on, as if it hadn't heard her.

"Are you features growing grayer by the day? Do they disgust people you meet on the street, make small children cry, men cringe, and windows break?"

Yubel froze. Her free hand flew to her face. The announcer went on:

"Get the shine back in your face with Gataril, the lotion men AND women love! It smoothes out your facial flaws, highlighting your merits! Soon enough, your cheeks will be apple red, and your wrinkles smoothed out! Avoid looking like a graying old beldam!"

The remote fell from Yubel's trembling hand as she moved it to her other cheek.

She COULD blush, yes, but her cheeks weren't naturally pink, or rosy. Did men like girls who had rosy faces? Did she really look like a…beldam?

Grasping blindly for the remote, she hurriedly changed the channel.

That was a mistake.

There was a paid infomercial on diet pills-was she skinny enough? She had no idea, but Juudai was very thin. If she were a 'woman' in this relationship, did she have to be skinnier then him?

There was a new line of mascara-were her eyelashes long enough? Did she have much of a sex appeal-Yubel was a hermaphodite! So what if Juudai…..

…..found that really, really creepy?

Channel after channel, the results were the same: Was she interested in dying her hair?

….was hers a little unnerving?

What about her nails? They were claws. It would be impossible to file them or put glittery designs or stones on them.

Was she supposed to be the 'male' in their relationship? Was she handsome? Did she protect Juudai as she should? Should she be ripped? Shouldn't she be wearing designer jeans?

The more channels she turned, the more fearful she felt. Juudai wasn't the type of person who looked at your appearance-he looked at YOU. It was one of the reasons why she loved him so.

But what if she didn't deserve him? What if she weren't trying hard enough?

Yubel hastily turned the telly off, and raced for the bathroom, heart pounding. What she saw in the mirror made her want to cry.

She had fangs-no perfect teeth. She had WINGS, for Pete's sake. She had talons, and untamable hair. She looked like a beast. A monster. A monster who could go either way in terms of….that department.

Yubel sank to the bathroom floor, buried her face in a towel, and began to sob.


	2. Chapter 2

It took a moment for Juudai to wriggle open the door, but at last, even with his hands full of parcels, he at last managed to pry the stubborn door open with the toe of his worn sneakers.

Exhaling slightly, the young man closed the door of their humble abode with his back, normally tanned complexion slightly rosy from the chill outside. But his brown eyes, which normally were a heavy mead brown with fatigue by this hour sparkled, and his face seemed to glow with boyish excitement.

"Yubel? I'm home!"

No answer. Slightly surprised, Juudai stuggled to the meager table, dropped the grocery bags and his books, and stretched his stiff joints, staring about the still room curiously.

"Uh...Yubel?" he asked again, feeling a little uncertain by this point.

Still silence. Juudai drew a hand to his spiky chestnut hair, now bewildered.

Usually, Yubel reacted like an excitable little cat when Juudai came home. If she wasn't swooping in on him for a tackle, a kiss or a series of rambled exclaimations, it was normally all three at once.

The young man felt a pang of guilt at the thought. Poor Yubel. Though she usually insisted that her days were peaceful and that she kept herself well amused throughout the day, it still pained him that she had to spend her days cooped up in a small apartment flat.

But that was why he'd made a special stop on his way home from work tonight, and he was more anxious then usual to see his 'girlfriend.' He had news. And an important-

Juudai's thoughts cut off abruptly when he heard the water hastily switch on from the opposite room. He turned towards the door, suddenly hopeful.

"Yubel?" he called out again, a little more loudly this time.

He heard a strangled curse from the other room, and Juudai's heart beat slowed down just a little. Much as he trusted Yubel to stay safely inside the flat, one of his biggest fears was coming home to an empty house with an open window.

Feeling better, Juudai moved to the bathroom door, and knocked, hearing the scuttling sounds from inside stop abruptly.

"Yubel? Are you taking a shower?"

Deathly silence-and then, Yubel answered, her voice much higher then normal.

"Ah-um-hello, Juudai! H-How was your day?"

Judai's brow furrowed as he made to open the door.

"Fine, thanks. Are you taking a shower? Mind if I come in?"

This time, an answer came immediately.

"**N-No!** I, I, I, mean, YES! I MIND!" she shrieked, just as Juudai had turned the doorknob. The boy froze.

"Just, ah, busy, sweetheart, so, I, well, you...can you wait a moment?"

There was definitely a high-pitch to the duel monster's voice-and Juudai's eyebrows disappeared entirely underneath his bangs. Eyes narrowing, and a scowl beginning to form on his face, Juudai stared suspiciously at the door.

"Are you alright, Belle-chan?"

Yubel's voice rose another octave at the use of Juudai's affectionate pet name.

"Yes! I just-I just need a moment, _tenshi_! Ergh, damn you," he heard her mumble under her breath, "Why don't you _work_?"

Juudai heard the water switched on once again-at full blast. Still, he remained frozen outside the door, hand still glued to the brass as splashing noises began to surface.

"...uh...are you SURE you're okay, Yubel?"

"Never better! Go make dinner! Or watch TV! I'll be out in, um, maybe a little bit..."

Had something broken yet again? Yubel had once accidentally destroyed a pipe or two in the bathroom-but wasn't that the worst she could do?

Suddenly, Juudai felt something wet soaking his stockinged feet. Startled, he leapt backwards, a small o on his face as water slowly began to seep from under the door crack.

"Yubel?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart, I'm sorry-I-I promise I'll clean it up later-"

But Juudai had seen enough. Ignoring the hermaphodite's desperate protests, the boy all but kicked the door off its hinges, and stormed in-

-one hundred percent absolutely unprepared for the spectacle that lay before him.

* * *

The bathtub, showerhead, and sink taps were running at full speed-evidently, most of them had been running for some time, now. The two sinks were pooling water past the counter, sending dozens of tiny waterfalls onto the floor. The bathtub, while, not entirely full, was slowly getting there, and brimming with a mountain of bubbles.

There were bars of soap scattered all over the floor, accompanied by a few drenched magazines. Juudai stared at the toothpick-thin models and their painful looking smiles for a moment or two before his eyes trailed ahead.

There were several tufts of wet silver hair on the ground...and a pair of scissors gleaming among the strands. Horrified, Juudai's mouth dropped once again...only to find himself locking eyes with a sad looking demon lurking among the soden mess.

There was color scattered on her face, only instead of make-up, it appeared from the sea of markers lying on the floor that the girl had gotten desperate enough to use actual ink on her face. Even Juudai could see that it had gone horribly-and now, looked terrible still. Evidently, Yubel had been unaware that she'd seized Juudai's permanent marker collection when she began frantically scrubbing her face. Sad streams of color were still pouring down her face and lips.

Juudai thought the tears might have helped.

The girl still cowering in the corner with a small cake of soap in her hands slowly lowered her face, and hid it within two large, trembling hands. The claws on the fingertips looked like someone had unsucessfully tried to cut them off.

Silently, Juudai stepped back in the water, and slowly opened the nearby cupboard. Carefully, he removed a small towel, bent to his knees, and carefully draped it around a surprised Yubel's head.

Startled, she looked up, just in time to see Juudai bend down to his knee, and slowly hug her, shaking his head. It looked like he was biting the inside of his mouth to keep himself from smiling.

* * *

It took the two awhile, but they at last cleaned up the sorry bathroom, though the task took them a little over two hours. Though Juudai thought they'd used quite enough water as it was that day, he still suggested that the two of them take a short shower-which was something Yubel agreed to immediately. While in the small stall the two shared, Juudai regretfully ran his fingertips over the crooked sides where his beloved had cut off her lovely hair.

Yubel stared at him mournfully from underneath the water.

"I'm sorry. I just-"

But Juudai just raised his fingertip to Yubel's lips.

"Later, okay? We'll talk about it later, I promise."

Feeling slightly better, though still miserable, Yubel drew Juudai's body closer to hers.

Soon dry, the two lay on the living room sofa. Juudai had carefully cut Yubel's hair so that her new 'do' of sorts looked, at least, fairly reasonable, instead of catastrophic. Two steaming mugs of hot chocolate lay on the coffee table next to boy and monster, a few old comforters draped over them. Yubel lay on top of Juudai, face pressed into his warm shoulder as he absentmindedly stroked her hair.

Yubel bit her lip when Juudai's hand slowly came to a stop. That was the first dreaded part. The next:

"Yubel..."

The hermaphodite squeezed her eyes shut, expression indignant.

"I saw them. I saw how beautiful they were, Juudai. Your world says so. Your BOX said so," she spat, raising one trembling finger towards the television set sitting innocently on the opposite of the room.

"Belle, I told you, it's all superficial-"

"Then why are so many doing it? Even in MY time, these women would be called lovely! A bit scandalizing for their...buckini or whatever finery, but BEAUTIFUL!"

Yubel raised her head and glared at Juudai's startled form, her mismatched orbs gleaming with unshed tears.

"I have gray skin. I-I have fangs. I could cut you, you know-hurt you, I have done it before, when we were holding each other, and-"

"Yubel-"

"My hands are coarse, and I can't wear normal clothing, and I don't have-"

Juudai propped himself up on his elbow.

"Yubel."

But the Duel Monster couldn't seem to stop herself. "I can't even go out on a proper date with you, because I am-mmmph!"

That was as far as she got; Juudai had all but attacked her lips with his own. Yubel's head landed on the couch from the force, and now startled, realized their positions had switched. The boy was cupping her chin adoringly, one hand still stroking her leathery face.

The tears came again, and Yubel closed her eyes. But just as she began to withdraw from the kiss, Juudai drew back, gasping slightly, his flickering eyes focused on the startled demon's face.

"How can you say that? What are you saying about me?"

Flabbergasted, Yubel exclaimed, "Nothing, Juudai! I keep telling you, it's ME that-"

Juudai buried his face in Yubel's neck.

"But I love _you_, Belle," he said, voice rather muffled. After a moment, he slowly raised his head, gaze unblinkingly fixed on Yubel.

"I chose you, Yubel, because I fell in love with you all over again. That's why I'm not with Asuka, even though she asked me to go with her to College-and offered to get me that Scholarship into Domino Prime."

This was certainly news to Yubel, who, unbeknownst to her, now had her hackles raised.

"Asuka...but...she...she...I...I thought..."

Juudai helplessly raised and lowered his shoulders, a small smile on his face.

"I know she's probably happy with Jun. I was too dense to know if she liked me or not in Duel Academy-or felt anythin' for me. But I had to turn her down at Graduation-though I can't say I felt great about it. No girl's ever told me she liked me, before."

At seeing Yubel's indignant glower, Juudai laughed nervously, and thrust a hand behind his head.

"Not counting you, Belle, I'm sorry. But the point is, I already had YOU, Yubel," he said seriously, using one hand to stroke Yubel's cheek again. "I had you, and while Asuka IS pretty, uh, pretty in her own way, she has NOTHING on you. That's how it's always been."

Still incredulous, and while still doubtful, Yubel felt a small ray of hope creep inside her heart, even as she stared at her lover's smile suspiciously.

"R-really?"

Juudai lowered his face to kiss Yubel tenderly on the forehead.

"Of course. I'd thought you knew that by now. But maybe that's my fault," he added, voice beginning to sink with regret. Expression guilty, he looked away, biting his lip.

"It's just...Yubel, you're my _tenshi_, my _angel_. You even come with the wings and everything!" Amused, he ran his fingertips over the velvety corners of the demon's hooked wings, allowing them to travel down Yubel's shoulders, forearms, past the smooth skin of her hands to her ragged claws. He held both of the demon's hands softly within his own, the two still tangled in warm blankets. Yubel stared at him, her face steadily becoming more rosy by the second.

"If you came back to me with horns, or with six eyes, or a tail, or-or whatever, you'd still be the loveliest girl on the face of this planet. Ordinary girls are ashamed enough of their own appearances that they start feeling they have to conform. Misery loves company, right? The truth of the matter is, not one, I repeat, not _one guy_ in this world is luckier then I am. They have some mindless bimbo without a trace of anything _really_ lovely."

His hands slowly brushed against her face in the darkness.

"I can tell you right now, Belle, that any girl worth her salt would see you from the sky and be jealous-because you're better looking in so many different ways-and are such, such," he said gently, still holding Yubel to him adoringly,

"A better person then most-in so many different ways. Not one can hold a candle to you, so never let that stupid box or anyone else tell you otherwise. THAT'S when I start findin' names," said Juudai grimly, his face cracking into a smile in spite of himself.

Perhaps it was the sappy speech, or perhaps it was the hilarity of the idea of Juudai actually hurting someone that made Yubel snort. Nonetheless, whatever the reason, a flushing Yubel crawled over Juudai under the quilts, and tugged the surprised boy into an extremely possessive, extremely relieved kiss.

_'Sorry girls. He's mine, mine, all mine, and there's nothing you can do about it.' _

* * *

Juudai's scent was so comforting. Yubel breathed it in and out as evening slowly progressed into night, still cradling her lover under cover of darkness. Playfully, he nuzzled at her clavicle from under the covers, and she found herself giggling from the first time that day.

Juudai's lips slowly trailed up to her cheek, then to her mouth, then to her opposite ear.

"I have a question for you."

"Mmmmmmm?"

"I rented a movie for us, today," Juudai mumured sleepily. "But now, you know, if you don't-"

Without another word, Yubel seized the nearby remote, and threw it out the window before snuggling back on top of Juudai.

The End. A bit sappy, I know, but I don't normally do romance. The original ending for this was MUCH sappier (We find out that Juudai has a promotion, and that the two are also moving in to a bigger loft. Oh, and that special stop Juudai made was to get Yubel a wedding ring. But you can write that in and imagine it for yourselves. :)

Oh, and no flamers, please. *Glares at flamers.*


End file.
